Brickbat: Tipping the Scale

Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth fired Gen. Charles Hamilton for improperly intervening in the process to select battalion commanders to help a subordinate officer who was found unfit for command. This is the first time since 2005 that a four-star Army general has been fired. Hamilton lobbied officers on the board to pass the subordinate, a lieutenant colonel whom he had a friendly relationship with. When that panel rejected her by a 5–0 vote, he got her a second panel two days later—something that Military.com reported has never happened before unless there was an administrative failure. She failed the second panel but was placed on the list for command anyway. Wormuth removed her after Hamilton's actions were first reported.